The Gladiator's nap of the week

The thought of a fourth year of stock market decline fills the Gladiator and his troop with despair. Traders, businessmen and pugilists alike cope brilliantly with good and bad news, but are incapable of dealing with prolonged uncertainty. So global stock markets are likely to remain volatile for several weeks. However, there is money to be made.

The troop managed to bale out of its 'shorts', traded in mid-December on the S&P 500 (bought at 879.0 and sold at 895.1) and JP Morgan Chase (bought at $24 and sold at $28.55) in £10 per point on 31 December. Instructions were also given to sell the gold stocks Newmont Mining (bought at $28.55) and Harmony Gold (bought at $16.85) at $29.00 and $16.81 respectively, again in £10 per point. A profit of £6,570 was gleaned, but the contribution from gold was disappointing considering this precious metal is almost at an all-time high.

The earnings season starts in earnest on Monday. The Gladiator gave instructions to buy into a potential technical rally. Applied Materials and Cisco Systems were bought at $15.20 and $15.14 respectively in £20 per point and the troop waded in to buy Citigroup and Bank of America at $37.30 and $71.90 on Friday in £10 per point.